la mar by gaston acurio

   i've been cruising around town with my windows down and made some nice pit stops along the way. the following four spots are new and my initial experiences were good enough to warrant return visits and were also worth sharing with you.                                                                              la mar is located in the former cafe sambal space at the mandarin oriental hotel located on brickell key in miami. it features the peruvian cuisine of chef gaston acurio who has owns additional spots in bogota, lima, san francisco and sao paulo. the miami kitchen is run by diego oka and themenuconsists of numerous cebiches, tiraditos, causas, anticuchos along with other takes on traditional peruvian dishes. they are open daily for lunch and dinner. the ceviche was easily the highlight of my initial visit. it featured really nice pieces of fresh tuna along with very flavorful leche de tigre. the strong and enjoyable flavors of the ceviche rendered the other dishes bland in c

i recently headed to miami for a few days of rest and relaxation.  one of the highlights of my trip was lunch at mandarin oriental’s la mar restaurant with my friend amy from creatrice mondial.  located in key biscayne, its patio offers an epic view of the glossy brickell skyline against the turquoise waters of the city.  one of my favorite dining traveler’s tips is to experience a fine dining restaurant for lunch because a. it’s easier to reserve and b. you can experience a prix fixemenufor much lower of a price.  this lunch experience is the picture-perfect (no pun intended) example.

most of the dishes we tried were absolutely fabulous. although advertised as "for sharing", the portions for mostmenuitems are not that big, especially if you're used to dining at other peruvian restaurants. we've tried many peruvian restaurants and this one has to be one of the best in miami for taste and presentation of food. the restaurant's location on biscayne bay right across from brickell avenue ( aka miami's financial district) makes it one of the best waterside dining establishments in miami. as expected, it's an expensive restaurant, but you get what you pay for and it's ideal for romantic dinners and special occasions. if you want to guarantee outside sitting, advanced reservations are recommended.

la mar’s concept is different; the restaurant describes its cuisine as “upscale novo-andean fare to asian-peruvian fusion and traditional seafood cebiche.” as executive chef, oka is free to be creative in the kitchen despite the long distance relationship with acurio. he adds “i always consult with him and of course he also gives us really cool ideas. we work together and he is always informed. teamwork!”  they chose to go with the “b” cebiche spelling on the menus instead of the more common ceviche or seviche  because (as he jokingly puts it) “b is for bueno!” yes! bueno it is! la mar’s elegant interiors, designed with a contemporary flair, feel chic and inviting. biscayne bay and the miami skyline as your backdrop aren’t too shabby either. day or night, rain or shine, the view is definitively also part of the experience. one look at themenuand i was initially overwhelmed, so many good choices! i could not make up my mind. luckily, since then, i have already tried many of the dishes. here are some of the highlights: chilcano de pisco cebiche sampler: calamari, shrimp, yellowtail snapper, cancha, ají amarillo leche de tigre

while there are countless peruvian restaurants in a city like miami, none can offer the culinary ties that a gaston acurio restaurant can (he truly is peru’s top chef and his name is known on a global scale). as peruvian cuisine is extremely diverse, themenuat la mar reflects this, featuring everything from the quintessential cebiche to peruvian style nigiri (thousands of japanese immigrants came to peru) to classic peruvian favorites. while nearly all the items on themenusounded amazing, i opted to do my own sampling so i could try as many things as possible, since i doubt gaston acurio will be bringing his name to the spanish lacking city of pittsburgh anytime soon.